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(No Model.)

J. E. PHILLIPS. FIRE DOOR.

No. 594,838.` l Patented Nov. 30,1897.V

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NrrED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. PHILLIPS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF ELLIS E. DRAKE, OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 594,838, dated November 30, 1897. Application filed September 21, 1896. Serial No. 606,541. (No model.)

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Beit known that I, JOHN E. PHILLIPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chi'- cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lire-doors, so called, by which is meant the heavy iron doors commonly placed in. walls separating intercommunicating buildings or portions of the same building and intended to be closed in case of fire to isolate the burning portion.

These doors are generally arranged to closev automatically, when a fire occurs, by the action of a thermostat, which, when the tem` perature reaches a predetermined degree, releases a holding agent of some form and permits a spring or weight to move the door. It is a common practice when the conditions permit to keep these doors closed except during business hours, and, moreover, when fire is discovered it is often desirable to close them without waiting for the thermostat to act where such a device is employed. For these reasons the door is made capable of being closed by hand, when desired, irrespective of any automatic agent that may be used.

It is necessary in the constructionfof firedoors to have the door extend below the level of the threshold, as well as above the top and beyond the sides of the opening, since otherwise crevices would exist, through which heat and water might pass. To permit the lower edge of the door to extend below the level of the threshold, it is the common practice to provide an iron channel, sunk into the threshold and adapted to receive the lowermost portion of the door, so that the latter in its movements shall travel within it. The channel, however, while answering the purpose for which it is intended, has certain disadvantages, chief among which are that persons passing through the opening are liable to be tripped by it and that it furnishes a receptacle for obstacles which may prevent the closing of the door in an emergency. To overcome these difficulties, wooden strips of the proper dimensions to fill the channel sufficiently have in some cases been placed within it; but it is obvious that any forgetfulness to remove the strip at .the proper times is liable to cause it to defeat the very object of the fire-door, since it would prevent the door from closing.

The object of my invention is to overcome all thedificulties mentioned above in connection with thel channel by means devoid of every defect; and to this end my invention consists, broadly, in providing the channel with an inclosing plate or strip, preferably of metal, to be supported within it approximately flush with the remainder of the threshold and combining with this feature an agent for displacing it to permit the advance of the door. p It will be readily apparent that a great variety of mechanisms may be devised for disn placing the threshold-piece at the proper time, v and hence my invention in its broad sense is not limited to the use of any particular displacing agent, provided it performs the function sought. The construction for this purpose, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is one ofseveral that I have devised and is the one which I prefer at the present time.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of the door and attendant parts provided with myinvention; Fig. 2, an enlarged end view of the same, and Fig. 3 an enlarged detail view...

A is the sliding door, mounted, by means of hangers t, upon a track B to move back and forth across the opening C. D is the inclined threshold, preferably formed of asingle metal plate, and s the depressed metal channel for the reception of the lower portion of the door. All these parts are of they usual construction and require no further description.

E is the movable threshold-piece, hinged to the metal threshold at the outer edge of the channel, as shown at r, and F is asupport for the thresholdpiece in the form of a longitudinal flange to rest upon the bottom of the channel when the threshold-piece is in place. The end ,of this supporting-flange is beveled upward, as shown at q, at the end which is adjacent to the forward end of the door when the latter is open, and the door is provided with a rigid arm G, projecting downward and inward, the purpose of which is to engage IOO with the beveled part q of the supportingflange as the door advances, and thus lift and overturn the threshold-piece upon its hinges, as indicated by the arc in Fig. 2, causing it to lie upon the incline of the threshold, and thus leaving the channel wholly open for the passage of the door. As the only functions of the ange F are to support and aid in displacing the hinged threshold-piece, it is obvious that it need not extend continuously throughout the length of the latter, but may nel, a displacer for the threshold-piece to rcmove it from the path of the door, and means for operating theA displacer substantially as described.

2. The combination with a sliding fire-door, traveling in a channel at its lower end, of a cover for the channel and a displacing device, operated by the door in closing, to remove the cover from the path of the door, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a sliding iireedoor traveling in a channel at its lower end, a threshold-piece E, hinged to the outer edge of the channel, a support F, projectingfrom the lower face of the threshold-piece and having the beveled part q, and an arm G rigidlyl secured to the door and projecting downward and inward to engage the beveled part q of the support F as the door closes, thereby overturning the threshold-piece on its hinges, substantially as described.

JOHN E. PHILLIPS. In presence of- J. H. LEE, R. T. SPENCER. 

